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    The Portland Peerage Romance
    The Portland Peerage Romance
    The Portland Peerage Romance
    Ebook122 pages1 hour

    The Portland Peerage Romance

    By Charles J. Archard

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    Read preview
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateNov 25, 2013
    The Portland Peerage Romance

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      Book preview

      The Portland Peerage Romance - Charles J. Archard

      Project Gutenberg's The Portland Peerage Romance, by Charles J. Archard

      This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

      almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or

      re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

      with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

      Title: The Portland Peerage Romance

      Author: Charles J. Archard

      Release Date: December 17, 2004 [EBook #14371]

      Language: English

      *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PORTLAND PEERAGE ROMANCE ***

      Produced by David Garcia and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team

      THE PORTLAND PEERAGE ROMANCE

      BY

      CHARLES J. ARCHARD

      GREENING'S NEW NOVELS

      "The name GREENING on a book is a guarantee of excellence."

      RICHARD THE BRAZEN

      BY CYRUS BRADY AND EDWARD PEPLE

      THE TANGLED SKEIN

      BY THE BARONESS ORCZY. 18th Thousand. 6s.

      THE MASCOTTE OF PARK LANE

      BY LUCAS CLEEVE. Third Edition. 6s.

      THE DUPE

      BY GERALD BISS. Second Edition. 6s.

      THE WOMAN FRIEND AND THE WIFE

      BY ETHEL HILL. 6s.

      THE PALM OIL RUFFIAN

      BY ANTHONY HAMILTON. 6s.

      AND THE MOOR GAVE UP ITS DEAD

      BY ERIC HARRISON. 6s.

      WHEN TERROR RULED

      BY MAY WYNNE. 3s. 6d.

      THE BISHOP'S EMERALDS

      BY HOUGHTON TOWNLEY. 6s.

      THE PORTLAND PEERAGE ROMANCE

      BY

      CHARLES J. ARCHARD

      LONDON:

      GREENING & CO., LTD.

      1907

      CONTENTS

      THE FIRST BENTINCK A HERO

      HOW THE BENTINCKS BECAME POSSESSED OF WELBECK.—A FEMININE INTRIGUE

      THE FARMER DUKE—WEDS THE RICH MISS SCOTT—HIS HIGH-SPIRITED SONS AND DAUGHTERS

      THE FARMER DUKE'S DAUGHTER AND THE HOUSE OF COMMONS' SPEAKER.—BECOMES A BENEVOLENT VISCOUNTESS

      EARLY LIFE OF LORD JOHN BENTINCK, AFTERWARDS FIFTH DUKE OF PORTLAND.—THE ADELAIDE KEMBLE ROMANCE

      LORD GEORGE BENTINCK'S RACING CAREER.—QUARREL WITH HIS COUSIN.—DUEL WITH SQUIRE OSBALDESTON.—SURPLICE WINS THE DERBY AND ST. LEGER.—ATTEMPTS TO POISON THE HORSE.—FRIENDSHIP WITH DISRAELI.—TRAGIC DEATH

      THE ECCENTRIC DUKE AND HIS UNDERGROUND TUNNELS

      THE PRESENT DUKE AND DUCHESS.—A ROMANTIC ATTACHMENT

      THE DUKE AND DUCHESS AT HOME.—THE DUCHESS AS PRINCESS BOUNTIFUL.—THE DUCHESS AT COURT

      CLAIMS TO THE PORTLAND PEERAGE BY MRS. DRUCE AND MR. G.H. DRUCE

      THE PORTLAND PEERAGE ROMANCE

      CHAPTER I

      THE FIRST BENTINCK A HERO

      What a delightful story is that of the Portland peerage, in which fidelity, heroism, chivalry and romance are blended and interwoven in the annals of the noble families of England. Who that has been to Welbeck Abbey, that magnificent palace in the heart of Sherwood Forest, with its legends of Robin Hood and his merrie men, with its stately oaks and undulating woodlands, stretching away to fertile pastures, dotted over with prosperous farmsteads, as far as the eye can reach, does not feel interested in the fortunes of the noble owner; and who that has seen the Duke and Duchess on some festive occasion at Welbeck, moving to and fro among their thousand guests, a perfectly happy couple, in which the course of true love runs smooth, and whose supreme delight appears to be to spread happiness around them, is so churlish as not to wish them long life, as types of the English nobility it is a delight to honour?

      There is no affectation about this illustrious pair, the Duke never poses in relation to affairs of State, and the Duchess has a natural grace all her own, to which art can add no touch of dignity.

      Welbeck is now the home of peace and joy; but there have been times when its history has been shrouded in tragic mystery, and even to-day there is the Druce claim to give piquancy to its story.

      The family springs from the alliance of the Bentincks and the Cavendishes. Theirs is a telling motto: Dominus providebit (The Lord will provide) was on the crest of the Bentincks, and it befitted a family not too richly endowed with this world's goods according to the position of the Dutch nobility 250 years ago; but being of sterling qualities devoted to the cause they espoused, their descendants have met with their reward. Craignez honte (Fear disgrace) was another motto of the family, and the fear of dishonour has been a characteristic trait from the time when the first Bentinck set foot in England, till to-day.

      Before unfolding the drama of tragedy, love, and comedy of these later years let us go back to the tale of heroism surrounding the character of the first Bentinck to make a name for himself in this country. Englishmen are apt to forget the debt of gratitude owing to men of the past; had it not been for Hans William Bentinck this favoured land might still have been under the Stuart tyranny, and the scions of the House of Brunswick might never have occupied the Throne of Great Britain.

      James the Second had made an indifferent display of qualities as a ruler, and the nation was tired of a superstitious monarch who was fostering a condition of affairs which was turning England into a hot-bed of religious and political plots and counter-plots. James's daughter, Mary, had married William, Prince of Orange, who was invited to come and take his father-in-law's place as King of England. That invitation was extended in no uncertain way, and James having withdrawn to the continent left the vacancy for his son-in-law and daughter to fill.

      When William of Orange came over at the request of many of the nobility and influential commoners in this country there was in his train, Hans William Bentinck, who had previously been to England on a political mission for the Prince.

      Bentinck was of noble Batavian descent and served William as a page of honour. His family had its local habitation at Overyssel in the Netherlands and still is known there. At Welbeck a curious old chest, made of metal and carved, is one of his relics, for in it he brought over from Holland all his family plate and jewels.

      The Prince was delicate of constitution and his ailments made him passionate and fretful, though to the multitude he preserved a phlegmatic exterior.

      To Bentinck he confided his feelings of joy and grief, and the faithful courtier tended him with a devotion which deserves the conspicuous place given to it in English history.

      The Prince was in the prime of manhood when he was seized with a severe attack of small-pox. It was a time of anxiety, not only on account of the possible fatal termination of the disease, but in an age of plots, of the advantage that might be taken to bring about his end by means of poison or other foul play.

      It was Bentinck alone that fed the Prince and administered his medicine; it was Bentinck who helped him out of bed and laid him down again.

      Whether Bentinck slept or not while I was ill, said William to an English courtier, I know not. But this I know, that through sixteen days and nights, I never once called for anything but that Bentinck was instantly at my side. Such fidelity was remarkable; he risked his life for the Prince, who was not convalescent before Bentinck himself was attacked and had to totter home to bed. His illness was severe, but happily he recovered and once more took his place by William's side.

      When an heir is born to Bentinck, he will live I hope, said the Prince, to be as good a fellow as you are; and if I should have a son, our children will love each other, I hope, as we have done.

      It was about the time of the Prince's perilous voyage to England to fight, if need be, for the Throne, that he poured out his feelings to his friend. My sufferings, my disquiet, are dreadful, he said, I hardly see my way. Never in my life did I so much feel the need of God's guidance.

      At this time Bentinck's wife was seriously ill, and both Prince and subject were anxious about her. God support you, wrote William, and enable you to bear your part in a work on which, as far as human beings can see, the welfare of His Church depends.

      In November, 1688, the Prince landed in England, and with him was Bentinck, accompanied by a band of soldiery, called after his name, as part of the

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